


A Welcome Stomach Ache

by am_i_living



Category: IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Best Friends, Blushing, Boys In Love, Childhood Friends, Comfort No Hurt, Cute Ending, Cutesy, Dorks in Love, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, Happy, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Love Confessions, References to David Bowie, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is Whipped, Richie Tozier is a Dork, Smitten, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Soft Richie Tozier, Space Oddity, Teen Crush, Teen Romance, Teenage Dorks, Teenage Eddie Kaspbrak, Teenage Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Teenage Losers Club (IT), Teenage Richie Tozier, Teenagers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Toothache, title from a david bowie song, title from space oddity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29383158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/am_i_living/pseuds/am_i_living
Summary: Richie + Eddie + David Bowie + A First Kiss
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 9





	A Welcome Stomach Ache

**Author's Note:**

> this started one way but ended a different way and you can pretty clearly see the demarcation
> 
> also my phone is taken right now so this is the result of a long day in my room listening to taylor swift

"Jesus, Rich!" Eddie's panting heavily, he can hardly get the words out, "Richie, slow down!"

"No can do Doctor K! It's imperative we get to my house quickly!"

Eddie doesn't have enough breath in his lungs to say it outloud, so instead he mocks Richie in his head, _I'm surprised you even know what imperative means._

They've been riding their bikes for about ten minutes at top speed, the second school ended Richie grabbed Eddie's wrist and ran to the bike rack (which was incredibly traumatic for Eddie, who had about three inches less leg than Richie) screaming something about 'a date with destiny.' Eddie is 80% sure he just has a new comic, but he allows himself to be dragged along since Richie's house is better than his own anyway. Richie's half a street ahead of him, and Eddie's pushing his legs as fast as they'll go, sweat dripping down his forehead, he feels like he's baking in the June sun.

Eventually they come to Richie's house. It's the nicest house in the neighborhood, the lawn and garden tended to by Richie's stay-at-home mom, Maggie. The exterior is a bright yellow, though over the years it's faded in the sun, and the door is a sky blue. Richie drops his bike after jumping off while it's still moving, a move he mastered sometime around fourth grade, Eddie let's his own slow to a stop before climbing off and pulling out the kickstand.

"C'mon Eds! Gotta show you!" Richie yells from the doorway, Eddie's still catching his breath and pulling his backpack off the package seat of his bike.

"Gimme a minute, Rich," Eddie yells, but when he turns he realizes Richie's already inside, probably in his room already with how quick he can climb steps, always taking them two at a time. Eddie slings his backpack over his shoulder and makes his way to the door, opening it and being hit with a refreshing wall of cool air. The house smells like Vanilla, as always, and Eddie's mom is in the living room watching TV off to the left.

"Hello, Eddie, how was school?" Maggie looks away from the TV to greet Eddie with a smile.

"Good! Whad'ya watchin'?" Eddie walks just far enough into the living room to see the TV without feeling obligated to stay. A bright red Coca-Cola can is featured on the TV.

"Commercials right now, I just sat down."

"Richie's upstairs, I assume?"

"Always."

"Thank you, it was nice talking to you Miss Maggie." Maggie laughs.

"Just Maggie is fine!" But Eddie is already halfway up the staircase, he knows which door Richie's room the way he knows which door is his own, he's been here plenty of times, if he could move in he probably would.

He opens the second door on the left and finds Richie laying on his bed flat, arms at his sides and eyes closed. His shirt is changed from the The Cure t-shirt he wore to school, now he's in a Derry High School Swim Team hoodie. Richie's door creaks loudly as it opens, but Richie doesn't move.

"Rich?" He couldn't have fallen asleep in the minute it took Eddie to get to him, could he?

"Oh, sorry," Richie breaks out in a smile but his eyes stay closed and he doesn't move, "I fell asleep while you were flirting with my mom."

"It's not my fault she's nicer than you," Eddie sat down on the space next to Richie's thigh, "And I was _not_ flirting with your mother."

"Yeah, okay. You tell yourself that, Step-Dad."

"Shut up." Richie rolls over now, making room for Eddie to lay next to him, "I'm not laying down, what did you want to show me?"

"What?"

"You practically dragged me here, what had you all excited?" Now Richie's eyes open.

"Oh my god, yes, sorry, I forgot!" Richie practically throws himself from the bed and runs to his closet. "I haven't opened it yet! I was waiting for you!" Richie's rummaging through the top shelf of his closet, somehow he already lost whatever he was excited about.

"Can I borrow a shirt or something while you look? I'm gross." Eddie's already opening Richie's dresser when he asks, but it's the thought that counts.

"Of course, Spaghed, but I already found it so pick fast." Richie has a small flat package in his hands, it's covered in brown paper but Eddie turns back around to take a sweatshirt from Richie's drawer before he gets a good look. He picks a pink Disney World sweatshirt that, somehow even as it came out of his drawer, smells distinctly like Richie. Blue Raspberry candy. Richie buys this ridiculous perfume for women that smells exactly like a Blue Raspberry Jolly Rancher, it's so good though. As Eddie pulls his own shirt off and pulls the sweatshirt over his head he's bombarded by the smell.

"Jesus Christ, Richie!" Eddie's got the shirt over his head now, and makes his way back to Richie's bed, "Do you spray your clothes with your stupid perfume before you put them away?"

"First off, you love my women's perfume, you said so yourself; Secondly, that's not important! Open it!" Eddie's sitting on the bed next to the brown flat package, and Richie pushes it closer to him.

"Why me? You bought it!" Eddie pushes it back.

"But I bought it for both of us to enjoy!"

"Well you open it!"

"What if we open it together?"

"Ugh, you're impossible. Fine, whatever." Eddie places his fingers under the space where the brown paper overlaps, Richie places his in the same place on the opposite side.

"There's a thirty percent chance it's upside down, though."

"Whatever! You've got me excited! Just open it!"

"Fine! Fine, on three!"

"One..." Eddie.

"Two..." Richie.

"Three!" This time together. The rip the paper back and Eddie can tell it's a record now, and even though Richie was right, it was upside down, he can see David Bowie on the back. David wears a busy suit and leather red knee-high boots. His fire red hair is in a frizzy mullet and his hands are tucked between his knees as he sits in a rather average chair. Next to his face the song list runs down the left side, and in the corner reads _David Bowie, Space Oddity._

"No fucking way, Richie!"

"Yes fucking way! It was like a million quadrillion dollars but it's worth it!" Richie says as he flips the record over and shows Eddie the front cover.

The front is a close-up to David's face, though the middle is clear and shows the record behind a sheet of plastic, the same photo is printed onto the vinyl, so that the front of the record's sheath is the full photo.

"Well play it!" Eddie urges Richie, "I've never heard it on vinyl!"

"I will! I will, but first close your eyes."

"Huh?"

"Just close them! Don't you trust me?" 

"Not really," Eddie closes them, "I just want to hear the record."

"Good enough a reason as any." 

Eddie can hear a drawer open and close, then hears another, presumably different, drawer open. 

"Hurry!"

"I'm trying, Eds, I'm trying!"

"Don't call me that!"

"I'm about to touch you!"

"What!?" Eddie's about to shoot his eyes open when they're covered by Richie's hand.

"Keep 'em closed, Eds!"

"Fine! If this is dumb I'm leaving!"

"What about the-"

"I'll take the damn record with me!"

"You gonna keep 'em closed if I move my hand?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, good."

Richie removes his hand, Eddie hadn't even realized how warm it was, and moves down to grab both of Eddie's hands, one in each of his own hands.

"Steady, Eds," Richie backs up and takes Eddie with him, his hands really are warm. They're sort of wet, too, but Eddie's sure his own are as well, and so can't bring himself to care. "Alright, just there. Now keep 'em closed, lemme move you a little more." Now Richie hold Eddie's shoulders and turns him slightly to the left. "That's it! One second, and... now!" Eddie does nothing. "Open your eyes!"

"Lord have mercy."

Eddie's been placed on the side of Richie's room farthest from the door facing the wall.

"That was just a joke, you can turn around."

"Thanks, your highness." 

Eddie turns and sees Richie on the other side of the room, he probably placed Eddie so far away so that their height difference wouldn't prohibit Eddie from experiencing his full outfit, which consists of the same grey hoodie he had on about two minutes ago, the same black jeans he had on, huge knee high red leather boots and ginormous red heart glasses. Richie's got his left leg to the front and his left leg back like he's halfway through the Hokey-Pokey, and his hands out doing jazz hands.

"Rich, what..."

"D'ya like?"

"You are..." _somehow still attractive. Attractive? This is our best friend! He's not attractive he's_ Richie! _He goes out of his way to not be attractive!_

"Am what?"

"My best friend, and I love you, but wow."

"You _love_ me?" Richie his eyebrows.

"Play the damn record, Elton."

"As you wish."

Eddie makes his way back to Richie's bed and gently passes the record to Richie before he lays down on his side of the bed, the left, and closes his eyes. He can hear Richie's ridiculous shoes on the hardwood of the floor and hear's Richie unpack the record. Richie's beside him before the few seconds of silence before the album begins are over. 

He feels Richie's hand slip into his own as the guitar of the first song begins. _Breath, Eddie_ Eddie's own thoughts scream at him, but Richie's hand is so warm. 

**_Ground control to Major Tom._ **

_Lord, help me. He's humming._

**_Ground control to Major Tom._ **

_He has such a nice voice when he sings out loud, and his hand is so warm._

**_Take your protein pills and put your helmet on._ **

_I wish he would just sing out loud._

**_Ground control to Major Tom._ **

_He has such a deep voice._

**_Commencing countdown, engines on._ **

_And his hand is so warm._

**_Check ignition, and may God's love be with you._ **

_I wonder if his eyes are closed too. This part of the song is so scary. Surely his eyes are closed. Should I look? Would it be tacky to look as the music picks up again? I'm just gonna do it._

**_This is ground control to Major Tom, you've really made the grade._ **

_Oh my god, his eyes are open._

**_And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear_ **

_He's looking right at me._

**_Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare_ **

_And I'm looking at him._

**_This is Major Tom to ground control_ **

_Why are we staring at each other?_

**_I'm stepping through the door_ **

_Why are we holding hands?_

**_And I'm floating in the most peculiar way_ **

_Me too, Bowie._

**_And the stars look very different today_ **

_He's so pretty, I wanna see his eyes._

Eddie takes off Richie's glasses and just like that he can see Richie's eyes. He can see Richie's whole face. He's so pretty, and he's got this dopey look on his face. He looks downright fond.

"Are your shoes on the bed?"

"It's my bed."

"When I'm here its my bed."

"Yes, Captain." Richie sits up to remove his shoes, and Eddie realizes how red he is.

_**Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do** _

"Let's dance!" Richie's staring down at Eddie with this big idiot grin.

"But I like lying here."

"Um, I don't care!" Richie pulls Eddie by his arm and coerces him to standing. Eddie can't decide if he loves or hates standing next to Richie, 6' to 5'6 height difference gets annoying when the 6' one is super annoying and loves to juice the shortness of the 5'6 one. And so they dance. The moment is charming, if not awkward. Richie grabs Eddie's left hand and spins him, it's not to the song, it's almost like Richie doesn't care about the song, it's like he can't hear it his dancing is so off-kilter. And Eddie laughs, which makes Richie laugh, which makes Eddie laugh. It's an endless cycle of laughing at nothing and everything and each other and themselves.

Eddie doesn't even know where they are in the song or the record, they're laughing and Richie's dumb glasses are off and his stupid shoes are off and they're laughing. And Eddie loves him so much.

* * *

Somehow they've made it back to the bed and they're lying beside each other and they're holding hands and they're looking at each other and Richie has that same fond look and Eddie's sure he's giving Richie the same one because he _is._ Eddie is downright fond of Richie.

"You're so, you're just," Richie's stammering and his grin is growing, "I just-"

"No, take your time, you've got this," Eddie laughs.

"Shut up," Richie turned onto his back and stares at the ceiling. "I was gonna say, that you're beautiful." Now Eddie notices the blush that had spread from Richie's cheeks down his neck. Eddie takes his hand out of Richie's to cover his blush with both of his own hands.

"Oh my God." He laughed it out.

"It's true! Hey, none of that!" Eddie feels Richie's arms slither between his chest and his wrists, drawing his hands away from his face. "Awwwww, are you blushing?"

"Shut up, so are you!" Eddie meets Richie's eyes, hoping to send something resembling contempt, but he couldn't. Richie was so close, he hadn't even realized how close they were. He could feel Richie's breath on his own face. They're so close they could probably kiss, if they wanted to, _which we don't!_

Eddie sits up. Richie follows.

"I'm bored." Eddie looks like a string puppet, legs spread and hands resting between them, his back slumped over.

"Eddie?"

"Mm?" Eddie looks to Richie to show he's listening.

"You're the best friend I've ever had."

"That doesn't mean much, you've only ever had like, six other friends, so..."

"Let me rephrase then," Richie takes a deep breath, "You are the best person I have ever met."

Eddie's hands shoot back to his face, this time Richie allows it.

"You know, you're the only person who actually lets me talk. I mean, you've never not let me talk, is what I'm getting at." Eddie can't see Richie from behind his hands, but if he knows from Richie's tone that if he could, he'd seeing a rather serious Richie, probably fidgeting with his fingers and finding something on those fidgeting hands to stare at.

"What's happening right now..."

"What do you mean?" Richie's nervous, it's so obvious, in his voice, in his fidgeting hands. 

"Like, why are you talking like this, oh my god." Eddie's voice is muffled behind his hands, his face is so hot, and his stomach is almost painfully twisting. He feels so bad, he wants it to stop, but he's also happy he feels it. _What is going on?_

"Because, oh my god, this is so awkward, why are you being awkward?"

"I'm not!" Eddie shoots to sitting up, and his hands come down, "You are!"

"Maybe we're both being awkward!" 

_And stupid David Bowie is still playing._

"Okay you know what?" Richie says, and he's not avoiding Eddie's eyes anymore. Eddie actually looks away to avoid the intensity in Richie's eyes, it's an intensity he's never seen them in all the decade he's known him. "Look at me."

Eddie does, and wishes he hadn't.

"You're pretty." Richie's face is so red, but his eyes look so...so...set? He looks like he hasn't doubted himself even once in his entire life.

And he's leaning in.

_Oh my god. He's about to kiss me. My stomach hurts so bad. Holy shit, my face is so hot. He's so close. Can he hear my heartbeat? I can feel it in my wrists. Holy shit it's fast. Wow he's even hotter up close. Holy shit he's so close. He's so close, I've never seen him so close, he has so many freckles, his eyes are closed he's so clo-_

All those thoughts lasted, maybe one second, if that. One second, and then Richie's lips are on Eddie's. THeir lips crash with so much force, Eddie has to lean back to take it all, they're not laying down, but their kissing, and Richie is definitely above Eddie. But it's over as fast as it started.

"Wow, I'm sorry," Richie leans back, his gaze is low but his head it high, and his eyes are so wide. His face is even redder than before.

"Wait why?" Eddie doesn't know what to do with his hands so he just reaches for Richie's, that's always what he does with his hands when he doesn't know what to do with his hands. Richie allows it.

"Well, like you didn't, like, you didn't kiss back, or anything, so I thought-"

"You gave me like half a second-"

"Well, but like, I was scared-"

"Well, so was I-"

"Why didn't you kiss back?"

"Because, I don't know, you, like, whatever shut up!" Eddie's done talking, he just wants to kiss Richie again- or for the first time? Whatever, he's done thinking, he just throws himself at Richie.

And they kiss.

And Eddie never believed people, or books, or movies, when they say that thing about fireworks. That fireworks shot out when they kissed, that they felt the spark. And he was right, there were no fireworks, there was mostly a lot of pain in his stomach, there was mostly a lack of strength in all his limbs. It was, in all honesty, one of the worst experiences that he's ever forced himself through. His face is, like, painfully hot, eventually he has to pull away, from the painful kiss. He can't help but laugh as he does it.

"What?" Richie's laughing too, his face is still red. Maybe neither of their faces will ever go back.

"That sucked so bad." They're laughing so hard.

"What! You think I'm a bad kisser?"

"No, my stomach just hurts so bad!"

"Do _not_ throw up on my bed, Eds!"

"Not that kind of hurt, stupid! I'm nervous!"

"Aw, Eddie-Bear's nervous" Richie squeezes Eddie's cheek, but Eddie pushes his hand off.

"Oh shut up! I've never done this before!" Eddie's hands are back on his face.

"Well, neither have I! In your defense," Richie's still laughing, which makes Eddie stay giggly, "my stomach hurts, too."

"Do you think, like, it's supposed to hurt?" Eddie let's his hands drop, he can't stop smiling, his cheeks hurt.

"Um, I don't know, it doesn't bad hurt."

"Yeah..." Eddie trails off, Richie looks so cute like this. Face red, stupidly thick glasses a little fogged up, smiling like a goof. Eddie adjusts his legs, folding them underneath himself, and he leans forward to grab Richie's face. On hand on either side, hoping his hands aren't sweaty.

"You're hands are sweaty."

"Thanks."

"No prob."

"You're so dumb, and also you're very annoying."

"I thought you were gonna kiss me again."

"I'm getting there."

"Take your time."

"I plan to."

And he does, he lets his thumbs move on Richie's cheeks, and eventually he lets his left hand take off Richie's glasses.

"Hey, give those back!" Richie laughs out, and shrugs off Eddie's hands to get them, "I wanna see you!"

"They're fogged anyway."

"I'm very well trained in the art of seeing through dirty glasses!"

"Yeah, I know, I'm the one who has to clean them."

"Y'know what?"

"Wha-"

Eddie's word is cut off in Richie's kiss.

_I could get used to this stomach ache, if I also get to get used to Richie this close._

**Author's Note:**

> I take constructive criticism (and bullying if you call me pretty after)
> 
> my three ts
> 
> twitter: wackytozier  
> tumblr: adhduris  
> tiktok: kitchenloafbread


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